Monument Bank is taking a major step into blockchain-based finance, announcing plans to tokenize up to £250 million in retail customer deposits. The initiative will be executed on the Midnight network, marking a notable milestone in the evolution of traditional banking infrastructure.
According to ChainCatcher, this move positions Monument Bank as the first regulated bank in the United Kingdom to deploy customer deposit tokenization on a public blockchain—an approach that could reshape how deposits are managed, transferred, and utilized.
Monument Bank becomes the first regulated UK bank to tokenize up to £250 million in retail customer deposits on the public Midnight blockchain. Deposits will continue to earn interest, remain fully backed, and stay protected under the FSCS.
Despite the technological shift, the bank emphasized that customer protections will remain unchanged. The tokenized deposits will continue to accrue interest just like traditional savings, be fully backed, and remain covered under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), which safeguards eligible deposits in the event of bank failure.
The adoption of public blockchain infrastructure introduces potential benefits such as increased transparency, faster settlement, and improved operational efficiency. By leveraging tokenization, Monument Bank could also unlock new financial use cases, including programmable money and enhanced liquidity management.
This development reflects a growing trend among financial institutions exploring blockchain technology beyond experimentation. While many banks have focused on private or permissioned systems, Monument Bank’s decision to utilize a public network signals increasing confidence in the maturity and security of decentralized infrastructure.
As regulatory clarity improves and institutional adoption accelerates, initiatives like this may serve as a blueprint for how traditional banking and blockchain technology converge—bringing digital innovation to core financial services without compromising trust or compliance.
